I love water. It is cool, refreshing, keeps away the wrinkles and you can’t live long without it. It is also increasingly more and more rare. The surface of this planet is 75% water, yet this is a misleading statement. Around 3% of the water on this planet is fresh water and of that 3%, 2% is frozen. That isn’t a lot of water for a world whose population just hit 7 billion.
Water is so vitally important, yet I feel as if no one pays any attention to it. We should pay attention. Just think of how much water is needed to irrigate crops, feed livestock, manufacture goods and last, but not least, DRINK. Add to the fact that there is a large amount of pollution in our ground water and I only see this increasing.
“Animal agriculture is a leading consumer of water resources in the United States, Pimentel noted. Grain-fed beef production takes 100,000 liters of water for every kilogram of food. Raising broiler chickens takes 3,500 liters of water to make a kilogram of meat. In comparison, soybean production uses 2,000 liters for kilogram of food produced; rice, 1,912; wheat, 900; and potatoes, 500 liters. “Water shortages already are severe in the Western and Southern United States and the situation is quickly becoming worse because of a rapidly growing U.S. population that requires more water for all of its needs, especially agriculture,” Pimentel observed.”
http://www.news.cornell.edu/releases/aug97/livestock.hrs.html
Just look at some of the effects poor water quality or lack of water can cause:
http://www.alternet.org/water/146101/polluted_water_more_deadly_than_war
http://www.umich.edu/~gs265/society/waterpollution.htm
http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Facts%20About%20Israel/Land/Israel-s%20Chronic%20Water%20Problem
Now I know about desalinization and GE has been coming out with more advanced units. I spoke to a GE engineer a while back and they have some amazing ways of cleaning brackish water or desalinizing sea water. The problem is that these are both energy intensive and very expensive. Israel and oil rich countries in the Middle East can afford this technology, but what about all the rest? Large populations reside in areas which do not have the finances to afford this technology. They also reside in areas which have antiquated farming techniques and tenuous food supplies.
What does this have to do with finance? Well I think anything which could cause riots or raise the price of basic commodities something very relevant to finance. I also think it is an issue which should concern us all. This should be on the back of our minds.
Something that is slowly coming around with public water companies is the concept of reuse or brown water. Through a complicated (well not that complicated) process you can take waste water and clean it. Right now people are still squeamish about drinking what once was in their toilet, but it is still used to water lawns and wash cars. In the future I think this will become even more prevalent.
In the near term I worry about agricultural prices rising. A substantial increase in basic ag prices would severely hurt developing nations and starve millions. Right now we in the USA are relatively safe, but for how long? I am not saying this is something 10 years out, but I am saying that this is something that should be addressed now, planned for now so that in 30 or so years when things start happening we are ready.
Tags: agricultural water consumption, Anthony DeAngelis, water pricing
Interesting facts about water that I did not know.
But if “Grain-fed beef production takes 100,000 liters of water for every kilogram of food.” then I would think that about 99,000 liters of water is released as urine by the cows. And I would think that the 99,000 liters of urine would have to evaporate and then rain back down on earth, no?
And what are the actions points related to this article…i.e. It’s not too hard to point out problems but what steps should we take to help fix the problem?
I hope my comments help your critical thinking for your next article.
rich, 1 year agoInteresting facts about water that I did not know.
But if “Grain-fed beef production takes 100,000 liters of water for every kilogram of food.” then I would think that about 99,000 liters of water is released as urine by the cows. And I would think that the 99,000 liters of urine would have to evaporate and then rain back down on earth, no?
And what are the actions points related to this article…i.e. It’s not too hard to point out problems but what steps should we take to help fix the problem?
I hope my comments help your critical thinking for your next article.
rich, 1 year agoYes I realize water is not destroyed, but only transformed and the cycle continues. That being said, water used for feedstock (whether directly or through grain usage) is less immediate water for drinking. As incomes rise and standard of living increase more water will be diverted. This is not an argument for a vegetarian lifestyle, but just a realization that there is a finite supply of non polluted drinking water and many interests wanting to be served.
As for my solution, that was not my point of the article. I am simply drawing attention to it and potential implications going forward.
Various solutions could be an increase in the use of brown water or the eventual use of it as a drinking source. Modified crops are being developed which use less water which could be extremely important in the future. There could be rationing, limiting water usage for non important uses, etc. Point is with each solution comes a problem.
I think it is important that people think about it and for anyone interested in soft commodities it is something that could be very important sooner rather than later. Solutions will come once the issue is recognized.
Anthony DeAngelis, 1 year agoYes I realize water is not destroyed, but only transformed and the cycle continues. That being said, water used for feedstock (whether directly or through grain usage) is less immediate water for drinking. As incomes rise and standard of living increase more water will be diverted. This is not an argument for a vegetarian lifestyle, but just a realization that there is a finite supply of non polluted drinking water and many interests wanting to be served.
As for my solution, that was not my point of the article. I am simply drawing attention to it and potential implications going forward.
Various solutions could be an increase in the use of brown water or the eventual use of it as a drinking source. Modified crops are being developed which use less water which could be extremely important in the future. There could be rationing, limiting water usage for non important uses, etc. Point is with each solution comes a problem.
I think it is important that people think about it and for anyone interested in soft commodities it is something that could be very important sooner rather than later. Solutions will come once the issue is recognized.
Anthony DeAngelis, 1 year ago